Hi Tweeters,

Today I joined Andy Stepniewski, Dennis Paulson and Netta Smith for
what was billed as an owling tour of the Lower Yakima Valley. We
found Barred Owl,Northern Saw-whet Owl and Long-eared Owl.

We also found a Gyrfalcon on top of Toppenish Ridge southwest of the
Toppenish NWR headquarters. From Pumphouse Road we drove up
Toppenish Ridge searching for Sage Sparrows. We didn't find any but
spotted what looked like a Gyrfalcon perched on a fence post near the
top of the ridge. Andy and I hiked up the ridge a ways and got good,
though distant, looks at the bird which we were able to positively
identify as a Gyrfalcon, a new county bird for me! So after
searching for one every winter for over 20 years, I have finally seen
one in Yakima County. The Gyrfalcon flew, so we headed back to
Pumphouse. We stopped to scan the ridge and found the falcon again.
We decided to drive to the top of the ridge on a fairly slick road
searching for a closer view. Unfortunately, we got the top of a hill
on the ridge and saw the falcon on the fence post only about 50 yards
away. It flew as soon as it saw us. We didn't see it again.

Earlier in the day, I found a Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk south of the
Yakima airport. A photo of it is in the new photos folder on my website.

Denny Granstrand
Yakima, WA



* Denny Granstrand *
* Yakima, WA *
* dgranstrand at charter.net *
* Denny's bird photos can be seen online at: *
http://granstrand.net/gallery/